Watson David O. 4

What Happened
David O. Watson, General Counsel of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, sold 7,832 shares on 2026-01-22 at $21.77 per share, generating approximately $170,467 in proceeds. The filing shows this was an open‑market sale reported on Form 4 and is noted as a sale to cover tax withholding for Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that vested on January 21, 2026.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-01-22; Form filed 2026-01-23 (period of report 2026-01-22). No late filing indicated in the provided data.
• Sale: 7,832 shares at $21.77/share, total proceeds ≈ $170,467. (Transaction code S; footnote F1 indicates tax‑withholding sale.)
• Purpose: Footnote F1 — shares sold to cover tax withholding on RSUs released Jan 21, 2026. (This is a routine withholding sale, often required by the company.)
• Holdings/beneficial ownership notes: Footnotes F2–F4 state certain shares are held in a custodial account for minor children, an irrevocable trust (trustee William Zorn), and the Watson Education Trust; Mr. Watson disclaims beneficial ownership of trust‑held shares except to the extent of any pecuniary interest.
• Shares owned after the transaction are not specified in the excerpt provided.

Context
Sales to cover tax withholding on vested awards are common and typically reflect a tax obligation rather than a discretionary sale driven by a change in view on the company. For retail investors, purchases tend to be more informative about insider confidence; this filing documents a routine tax‑withholding disposition.